Chukuo
Chukuo (traditional Han: 楚洲國; Jyutping: choh jau gwok), officially the Empire of Chukuo (traditional Han: 楚洲帝國; Jyutping: choh jau dai gwok), is an island micronation located mostly on a small strip of islands on the southern coast of China at the Pearl River Estuary and the South China Sea. Neighboring states include Hong Kong to the west, China to the north, Taiwan to the east, and Macau to the west. A major part of the Chukuo's Cantonese-speaking majority originated from the neighbouring Guangdong province. The Chukuan Empire consists a parliamentary government based on British politics under constitutional monarchy. About 10% of Chukuo's claim is mostly claimed but uncontrolled. Sai Kung Town is the capital city and seat of government located in Sai Kung Province. Chukuo claimed complete independence from the People's Republic of China since 16 July 2014, the day when the country was declared. Chukuo consists of three provinces: Sai Kung, Bak Kui, and Nam Kwan. The regions are subdivided into geographic districts, each represented by a council which advises the government on local matters such as public facilities, community programmes, cultural activities, and environmental improvements. Chukuo's history goes back since the Treaty of Nanking. The Taicheung Emperor has declared the Empire of Chukuo to be the successor to British Hong Kong that ceased to exist in 1997. Today, most of Chukuo's political influence is based on the former British colony. Etymology The English word Chukuo derives from the Mandarin Chinese pronunciation of the Chukuan name, 楚洲國, which in Cantonese is pronounced choh jau gwok. The full title in jyutping is choh jau dai gwok (楚洲帝國), meaning the "Empire of Chukuo". The Cantonese pronunciation choh jau gwok (楚洲國) is used as a formal modern-day equivalent; countries like Chukuo whose long form does not contain a descriptive designation are generally given a name. History British Hong Kong in Hong Kong commemorates those who died in service in WWI and WWII during British rule ]] Hong Kong was given by the Qing Dynasty to the British Empire in 1841 under the Treaty of Nanking. Kowloon was added to the area of Hong Kong in 1860 under the Convention of Peking, and New Territories was added in 1898 under the Second Convention of Peking. In 1941–1945, Hong Kong was ruled by the Japanese Empire during World War II. In 1984, People's Republic of China and the United Kingdom agreed under Sino-British Joint Declaration on the Question of Hong Kong that Hong Kong was to be returned to China on 1 July 1997. Empire of Chukuo After Luke Walker was elected as the first Prime Minister of the Provisional Government of Chukuo, he took various steps to consolidate his power and remove opposition leaders from office. To secure his own power he collaborated with various of other micronations. Around May 2014, he instructed his cabinet to canvass support for the creation of the Empire of Chukuo. On 22 June 2014, an assembly unanimously elected him as Emperor. Walker ceremonially declined, but "relented" and immediately agreed when the Parliament petitioned again that day. On 16 July 2014, Luke Walker declared the Empire of Chukuo with himself as the "Great Emperor of the Chukuan Empire" (大帝), taking the era name Taicheung (泰昌, "Grand Prosperity"). However, the new emperor delayed the accession rites until 12 March 2015. Soon after, the Taicheung Emperor started handing out titles of peerage to his closest relatives and friends, as well as those whom he thought he could buy with titles. On 13 August 2015, the Taicheung Emperor declared that the Empire of Chukuo to be the successor to the British Colony that transferred sovereignty over Hong Kong to China in 1997. A few days later, the Chukuan government adopted political influences from the United Kingdom. Politics , current reigning Emperor of Chukuo ]]The Empire of Chukuo is a unitary state under constitutional monarchy. The Taicheung Emperor is the head of state of the Empire of Chukuo The emperor has "the right to be consulted, the right to encourage, and the right to warn". The Constitution of the Empire of Chukuo is uncodified and consists mostly of a collection of disparate written sources, including statutes, judge-made case law and international treaties, together with constitutional conventions. As there is no technical difference between ordinary statutes and "constitutional law", the Parliament, the Chukuan legislature, can perform "constitutional reform" simply by passing Acts of the Parliament, and thus has the political power to change or abolish almost any written or unwritten element of the constitution. However, no legislature can pass laws that future legislatures cannot change. Government The Empire of Chukuo has a parliamentary government. The Parliament has two houses: an elected House of Representatives and an appointed House of Peers. All bills passed are given Imperial Assent before becoming law. The Prime Minister, Chukuo's head of government, belongs to the person most likely to command the confidence of the House of Representatives; this individual is typically the leader of the political party or coalition of parties that holds the largest number of seats in that chamber. The prime minister chooses a cabinet and its members are formally appointed by the monarch to form His Majesty's Government. Foreign relations and military ]]Chukuo is a member of the Asian Micronations and one of the founding members of the Micro Asian Tigers. Chukuo signed a security pact with the United Islands in October 2015. Chukuo has close economic and military relations with the Woodlands Republic; the Chukuan-Woodlander security alliance acts as the cornerstone of the nation's foreign policy. As a member state of the MAT, Chukuo has served as a non-permanent Security Council member for a total of 2 years, most recently from 2014 and ongoing. Chukuo's military is restricted by Article 9 of the Chukuan Constitution, which renounces Chukuo's right to declare war or use military force in international disputes. Accordingly, the Imperial Armed Forces of Chukuo is a usual military that has never fired shots outside Chukuo. It is governed by the Ministry of Defense, and primarily consists of the Imperial Ground Force, the Imperial Maritime Force and the Imperial Air Force. Chukuo’s Business Federation has called on the government to lift the ban on arms exports so that Chukuo can join multinational projects such as the Joint Strike Fighter. Recognized micronations Micronations that were automatically recognized by Chukuo * Principality of Hashima * Republic of Keig * Sealand * Principality of Hutt River * Imperial Throne Micronations that have signed a treaty with Chukuo The Empire of Chukuo has also signed various treaties with the following micronations. Most of them are of mutual recognition and non-agression: * Kingdom of York * United Islands * Woodlands Republic Geography Chukuo is located on China's south coast, east of Hong Kong. It is surrounded by the South China Sea on the east, and south, and borders Hong Kong to the west, and the Guangdong city of Shenzhen to the north over the Shenzhen River. The total area, 485.05 km² is land and 20 km² is inland water. Chukuo claims territorial waters to a distance of 3 nautical miles (5.6 km). As much of Chukuo's terrain is hilly to mountainous with steep slopes, less than 25% of the territory's landmass is developed, and about 40% of the remaining land area is reserved as country parks and nature reserves. Low altitude vegetation in Chukuo is dominated by secondary rainforests, as the primary forest was mostly cleared during the Second World War, and higher altitudes are dominated by grasslands. Most of the territory's urban development exists in Sai Kung Town, the capital of the Empire of Chukuo. The country's Geopark is made up of eight Geo-Areas distributed across the Sai Kung Volcanic Rock Region and Northeast New Territories Sedimentary Rock Region. Climate Chukuo has a humid subtropical climate. Summer is hot and humid with occasional showers and thunderstorms, and warm air coming from the southwest. Summer is when typhoons are most likely, sometimes resulting in flooding or landslides. Winters are mild and usually start sunny, becoming cloudier towards February; the occasional cold front brings strong, cooling winds from the north. The most temperate seasons are spring, which can be changeable, and autumn, which is generally sunny and dry. Chukuo averages 1,948 hours of sunshine per year, while the highest and lowest ever recorded temperatures at the Chukuo Observatory are 36.1 and 0.0 °C (97.0 and 32.0 °F), respectively. Administrative divisions File:Bak Kui.png| Bak Kui File:Sai Kung.png| Sai Kung File:Nam Kwan.png| Nam Kwan Economy serves as it's national currency]]Chukuo has a dynamic, capitalist, export-driven economy with gradually decreasing state involvement in investment and foreign trade. In keeping with this trend, some government-owned banks and industrial firms are being privatized. Real growth in GDP has averaged about 3%. Exports have provided the primary impetus for industrialization. The trade surplus is substantial. Chukuo has its own currency, the Chukuo dollar. The Chukuo Stock Exchange has a market capitalisation of $5,000 as of March 2015. The Chukuan Government has traditionally played a mostly passive role in the economy, with little by way of industrial policy and almost no import or export controls. Market forces and the private sector were allowed to determine practical development. Under the official policy of "positive non-interventionism", Chukuo is often cited as an example of laissez-faire capitalism. Following the founding of Chukuo, the micronation industrialised rapidly as a manufacturing centre driven by exports, and then underwent a rapid transition to a service-based economy in 2014. Chukuo has little arable land and few natural resources, so it imports most of its food and raw materials. Imports account for more than 75% of Chukuo's food supply, including nearly all of the meat and rice available there. Agricultural activity—relatively unimportant to Chukuo's economy and contributing just 0.1% of its GDP—primarily consists of growing premium food and flower varieties. Science and technology Robotics ]]Robotics has been included in the list of main national R&D projects in Chukuo during the early 21st Century. The government announced plans to build and program NXT robots, eventually to improve automatic system programs to make them more useful. In 2015, Chukuo Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (CAIST) programmed the walking NXT Miniature Humanoid. The first Chukuan-made NXT Miniature Humanoid were developed by Lego Mindstorms, built and programmed by a team of technicians from CAIST. The CAIST built and programmed many other kinds of robots, such as the NXT Robotic Artist and the NXT Portable Crane. The robotic technology relies on various of sensors that is programmed using codes, therefore a robot can self-control independently. Plans for robotics are also incorporated in the entertainment sector as well; the Chukuan Robot Game Festival has been held every year to promote science and robot technology. Culture Chukuan culture has evolved greatly from its origins. Since ancient times, the country's culture has been heavily influenced by Confucianism and conservative philosophies. For much of the country's Chinese dynastic era, opportunities for social advancement could be provided by high performance in the prestigious imperial examinations, which have their origins in the historical Han Dynasty. The literary emphasis of the exams affected the general perception of cultural refinement in Chukuo, such as the belief that calligraphy, poetry and painting were higher forms of art than dancing or drama. Chukuan culture has long emphasized a sense of deep history and a largely inward-looking national perspective. Examinations and a culture of merit remain greatly valued in Chukuo today. Chukuo is frequently described as a place where "East meets West", reflecting the culture's mix of the territory's Chinese roots with influences from its time under British Hong Kong. Concepts like feng shui are taken very seriously, with expensive construction projects often hiring expert consultants, and are often believed to make or break a business. Other objects like Ba gua mirrors are still regularly used to deflect evil spirits, and buildings often lack any floor number that has a 4 in it, due to its similarity to the word for "die" in Cantonese. The fusion of east and west also characterises Chukuo's cuisine, where dim sum, hot pot, and fast food restaurants coexist with haute cuisine. Cuisine and jasmine tea ]] Chukuan cuisine is highly diverse, drawing on several millennia of culinary history and geographical variety. The emperors of traditional Chukuo were known to have many dining chambers in their palaces, with each chamber divided into several departments, each responsible for a specific type of dish. Chukuo's staple food is rice, wheat based breads and noodles. The diet of the common people in pre-modern times was largely grain and simple vegetables, with meat reserved for special occasions. Pork is now the most popular meat in Chukuo, accounting for about three-fourths of the country's total meat consumption. Due to the area's proximity to the ocean and milder climate, has a wide variety of fish and vegetables. Traditional dress wearing a traditional hanfu at 2005 Hong Kong flower show]]The Hanfu is derived from traditional Han dress, were considered national dresses in Chukuo. The term Hanfu derives from the Book of Han, which says, "then many came to the Court to pay homage and were delighted at the clothing style of the Han. The hanfu is commonly worn for ceremonial purposes by politicians at the Parliament, the Imperial Family, Taoist, Confucian or Buddhist monks and priests during religious ceremonies, or as a cultural exercise. A complete Hanfu garment is assembled from several pieces of clothing into an attire: * Yi (衣): Any open cross-collar garment, and worn by both sexes * Pao (袍): Any closed full-body garment, worn only by men in Hanfu * Ru (襦): Open cross-collar shirt * Shan (衫): Open cross-collar shirt or jacket that is worn over the yi * Qun (裙) or chang (裳): Skirt for women and men * Ku (褲): Trousers or pants People are also able to accessorize with tassels and jade pendants or various ornaments hung from the belt or sash, known as pei (珮). Hats, headwear and hairstyles On top of the garments, hats (for men) or hairpieces (for women) may be worn. One can often tell the profession or social rank of someone by what they wear on their heads. The typical types of male headwear are called jin (巾) for soft caps, mao (帽) for stiff hats and guan (冠) for formal headdress. Officials and academics have a separate set of hats, typically the putou (幞頭), the wushamao (烏紗帽), the si-fang pingding jin (四方平定巾; or simply, fangjin: 方巾) and the Zhuangzi jin (莊子巾). A typical hairpiece for women is the ji (笄) but there are more elaborate hairpieces. External links *Official website *Chukuo on Wikipedia References See also Category:Asian micronations Category:Chinese micronations Category:Hong Kong micronations Category:Cantonese-speaking regions Category:Chinese-speaking regions Category:Founded in 2014 Category:Micronations